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Marshall Turley (1814-1894) was born in Kentucky and died in Council
Bluffs, Iowa. He married Louvisa I. Turley (b. Scott) in Tazewell, Illinois, in 1837. He
was the father of Camilla Hanna, who along with her husband, Septimus, held many roles
in the Christian Science movement. By 1847, when Camilla was born, they were living in
Wisconsin. By 1850, the family was living in Fairview, Iowa, where Turley worked as an
attorney. They also lived in Galesburg, Illinois, for a period in the early 1850s before
returning to Iowa in 1854 and settling in Council Bluffs. There, Turley worked in
various professions, including farmer, public speaker and inventor. Along with several
others, he laid out and platted the "Galesburg addition" to Council Bluffs. He also
donated land for a depot for the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River railroad. Turley gave
his daughter Camilla a copy of
Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures as a New Year's gift in 1886. This gift precipitated Camilla's
healing through Christian Science, which led to her lifelong commitment to the religion.
Beyond Turley's gift to his daughter, the records do not indicate that he had any
personal involvement with Christian Science. After Turley's death, Louvisa joined The
First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in April 1896.
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